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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Book Review: A Watery Grave by Joan Druett (Wiki Coffin #1)

Stars: 4 out of 5Pros: Fascinating characters with a decent storyCons: Historical detail and back story needed to be better
incorporated.

The Bottom Line:

Too historical

Once plot starts, interesting

And great characters

Join the Expedition with Wiki Coffin

Sometimes you just stumble on a good book. Such is the case
with A Watery Grave, the first Wiki Coffin book by Joan Druett. I spotted a
volume in the series at my local library. I decided the series sounded like
fun, so I grabbed this one. And I really enjoyed it.

The book is set at the beginning of the United States
Exploring Expedition, which took place from 1838 to 1842. This is a chapter in
American history I didn't even know existed before. The ships set out from America, traveled to the South Seas and
Antarctica before returning to the Northern Hemisphere and charting the coasts
of Oregon and Washington.

Since the book was set during a real event, it is populated
with real and fictional characters. Like most of the cast, Wiki is one of the
fictional characters. He is half New Zealander and half American. He is hired
to be a linguist for the expedition and spends most of his time on the
fictitious eighth ship created specifically for this series.

The morning the expedition is set to launch, Wiki Coffin
finds himself waiting on shore. When shots ring out, he thinks he is the
target. Instead, the target is a row boat floating down the river. The occupant
of the boat is already dead from a broken neck, however. She is the wife of one
of the expedition's astronomers.

Wiki is briefly accused of the crime, but the sheriff
quickly realizes that couldn't be. He's able to rejoin the expedition before it
completely launches. But when another death occurs not too long into the
voyage, Wiki begins to suspect a connection between the two. Is there a killer
on board? Can Wiki find him?

You can always tell when an author has chosen to write about
something they know well. In this case, Joan Druett is a nautical historian
with several non-fiction books to her credit. As a result, the nautical detail
is wonderful. That's both a blessing and a curse, however. At times, the terms
are thrown at us so fast it's almost impossible to follow what she is
describing. It would have been helpful if these terms were defined somewhere in
the book, but there isn't even a glossary. A couple of times, the plot slowed
down so that we could get a detailed view of an aspect of life on board these
ships. While those eventually came into play, it did slow the book down a
little too much at the time.

I know, I know, I'm criticizing a historical mystery for the
historical detail.

In reality, that was the only bad part of the book. I loved
the characters. I was drawn to Wiki immediately. He's a strong character with
strengths and flaws. And his mixed heritage gives us a great window into the
American culture of the time. The author manages to create quite a few ironic
scenes that ultimately jab slightly at the civilized world of America. The
rest of the characters were equally as well drawn. Even the minor characters
were memorable.

One small complaint about the characters. The story slows
down at times to give us the back story on Wiki and his best friend George
Rochester, also on the expedition. Some of it is fun and relevant. But some of
it has no place in this book.

As you can probably guess already, the plot suffered from
pacing issues related to the character background and historical detail. That
aside, I loved it. The twists kept me confused until the end, although I did
figure a few of them out beforehand. And let me tell you, the climax had my
heart racing even though I was sure I knew how it would end.

It's probably my love of history and the sea, but I really
enjoyed A Watery Grave. Yes, it had pacing issues I hope disappear as the
author gets a better handle on fiction writing. But I will definitely be making
a second voyage with Wiki Coffin.

About Me

I'm an accountant by trade but a reviewer at heart. Top reviewer at Amazon. Love to read, watch TV and movies, and listen to music. And I'm always looking to share and discuss what I am currently consuming.

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